11/22/2023
By Lynne Schaufenbil

Please join the Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology for a virtual seminar by Dr. Richard S. Woolf, Research Physicist, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.

Title: High-Energy Space Environment Research at NRL

Abstract:
The High Energy Space Environment (HESE) branch at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has a long history of radiation detector development for applications that range from MeV astrophysics to force protection. Research in gamma-ray astrophysics dates back more than 50 years, with NRL playing a significant role in both the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. As we progress into the future, NRL is playing a key role in the development of the next generation of instrument for gamma-ray astrophysics. One such mission is the Compton-Pair (ComPair) gamma-ray observatory design to study the under explored MeV sky. The HESE branch is leading the development of the scintillation-based (thallium doped cesium iodide) calorimeter with SiPM read out for ComPair, and recently flew a prototype instrument on a high-altitude balloon from Fort Sumner, NM. Additionally, the HESE branch has five payloads currently in orbit, either on the ISS or on free flyers, designed to space qualify novel scintillator material, understand the response of SiPMs in space to varying orbits and radiation doses, and detect and localize gamma-ray bursts. During the talk I will give an overview of current projects and instrumentation being developed for upcoming flights.

Bio:
Richard Woolf received his Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire in 2010, where his dissertation focused on the development of instrumentation for a neutron scatter telescope,intended for solar observations in the inner heliosphere. After UNH, he was a research scientist at George Mason University, followed by his tenure as an NRC Postdoctoral Fellow resident at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington DC. Following his postdoc, he transitioned to a civil servant position as a research physicist at NRL in 2014. He is the NRL Principal Investigator for several NASA-funded programs in gamma-ray astrophysics, including the calorimeter instrument for the Compton-Pair / AMEGO-X mission and the StarBurst
Multimessenger Pioneer mission – a gamma-ray burst telescope slated for launch in 2025. He is also the mission manager for the NASA-funded Glowbug instrument – a gamma-ray transient telescope currently operating on-board the International Space Station.

Please contact Lynne_Schaufenbil@uml.edu if you are interested in attending.